Annual run benefits families with seriously ill children

Edgin said her daughter, Rebecca, began getting sick on Sept. 9. A trip to the emergency room found something abnormal on an x-ray, and a CT scan detected a large mass in her chest, leading to the diagnosis of leukemia.

Amanda had been a cheerleader at school, but has not attended class since becoming ill. She was in the hospital for half of December.

Edgin said physicians hope to do a bone-marrow transplant if they can find a donor, and her twin brother and sister are scheduled to have their blood drawn this week to see if they are matches.

Assistance from the foundation may help the family get through the recovery period following the transplant, Edgin said.

“I’ve tried to continue working, but it’s really hard being a single parent living off disability,” she said, adding that she is eligible for four more weeks of payment.